Gabor Leather
Best leather for our quality shoes

For the love of leather

They live out of the suitcase...

...as they frequently travel abroad and hardly spend more than one night in one place - and all day long they attend to the most important material for shoes: The Gabor leather acceptors. "Passionate about leather."

Responsibility for top quality

Our leather acceptors check each and every product, right there in the tannery, before it is sent to Gabor. Only if the quality is right, the leather acceptor punches the skin with a special tool. If it has been punched, it can be shipped to Gabor. Leather is an expensive commodity on the world market. They are responsible for deciding on the quality of products worth millions. For them, no news is good news: if they don’t hear about any issues from the goods receipt warehouse or the production area, they know they’re doing their job well. There, only top quality is accepted and processed. The highest demands are made towards the visual, technical and mechanical properties of the leather. After all, Gabor customers expect top quality shoes. Currently, Gabor is purchasing 65 different kinds of leather, and, as each variety is used in several colours, Gabor lists about 300 "leather items".

A feeling for the fashion

To punch or not to punch? The leather acceptor's decision is aided by a strict Gabor checklist. Among other things, it features criteria such as strength, hide size, colour, visual appearance, softness and grip as well as various technical characteristics. Leather acceptors also have to decide whether fashionable types of leather meet Gabor’s strict quality standards and are a good fit with the collection. For that reason, they have to be keenly in tune with what’s on trend – they need a vision of what the shoe will look like beyond the leather itself. Material not suitable for one shoe can be just right for another.

In the tanneries, it is the leather acceptors who have the final say. That’s why they need an instinctive feel for the products – quite literally. "Leather has to have that typical leather feel. When I touch it, I have to fall in love with it," explains one of Gabor’s leather acceptors.

A Diplomat as well

A leather acceptor's job would be easy if all came down to saying "yes" or "no". However, Gabor depends on leather supply not only of the desired quality and uniformity but also in the quantities required. Tanners on the other hand cannot always supply the desired quality. Their reasoning is: "leather is a natural material." Also, Italian shoe manufacturers - Gabor purchases most of its leather at the Italian tanning centres around Verona, Pisa/Florence and Naples/Salofra - are more open to accept deviations. The regard the uniqueness as a particularly fashionable feature. Leather acceptors are there to explain Gabor’s standpoints and advise tanners – so in that sense, they are also diplomats. “Italian tanners are very proud of their work” is one comment made from experience. This means that any criticism of leather products needs to be put forward extremely tactfully.

Always on site

A regular, frequent contact is essential for effective collaboration. During the sampling phase, co-ordination with the central purchasing department is particularly close. Usually, a small quantity is produced under serial conditions first. The leather acceptor is required to supply feedback in detail - optimally saying: "perfect!"